Sheryl Steckler will not seek to renew contract when it expires in June

Palm Beach County's first-ever inspector general is leaving after nearly four years of pushback during her pioneering efforts to launch the local government watchdog post.

Sheryl Steckler said Wednesday that she would not seek a renewal of her contract, which expires in June. Steckler said family matters, not ongoing legal fights and other resistance to her oversight efforts, drove her surprise decision to step aside.

"It's time to come home and take care of my family," said Steckler, 51, whose husband and three children still live in Tallahassee, where she worked before she took the Palm Beach County job in 2010. "I have done what I said I was going to do. … It's time for a new leader."

A series of corruption scandals prompted the creation of the inspector general post as the centerpiece of an ethics reform push aimed at restoring public trust in local government.

Steckler was hired to head the post, charged with ferreting out fraud, waste and abuse. While praised by reform backers, Steckler has also faced criticism from local leaders who questioned the reach and approach of her oversight efforts.

Also, Steckler's office has been financially hamstrung by a two-year legal fight with 14 cities that object to the county requiring them to help pay for Steckler's $3.7 million budget. The budget fight hampered her ability to hire all the investigators, auditors and other employees envisioned for the office that watches over county government and all 38 cities, towns and villages.

Steckler did an "excellent" job, despite opposition from "people who do not want to be watched," County Commissioner Jess Santamaria said.

"The pushback has been relentless from many sources since day one," said Santamaria. "I'm surprised she even lasted this long."

Steckler, who is paid about $150,000 per year, plans to stay in her position until her contract ends in June. She expects the inspector general office oversight committee to start planning its search for her replacement in February.

While Steckler's contract ends in June, she was nearing a review where local officials would decide whether to grant a renewal.

"Her legacy will be mixed," said former Palm Beach County Ethics Commissioner Manuel Farach, who was part of the committee that helped chose Steckler for the inspector general job. "She did some things that left a lot of people scratching their heads."

One of Steckler's questionable steps included trying to join the legal fight between the county and 14 cities over the funding for her office, which Farach said added to delays in resolving the case.

Farach also said that Steckler should have been more transparent in her plans for and operations of the inspector general office.

County Administrator Robert Weisman has butted heads with Steckler during her tenure and planned to recommend that her contract not be renewed.

Weisman said there have been "quality problems" with some of Steckler's oversight reports. Aside from Wesiman's questions about Steckler's performance, he also contends that there is a lack of oversight of the inspector general post itself.

"I don't think the inspector general office has delivered what a lot of people expected," Weisman said.

In 2010, voters countywide overwhelmingly supported expanding the inspector general's oversight reach beyond county government to all 38 municipalities. But the legal fight with 14 cities — including West Palm Beach, Delray Beach and Boca Raton — has at least temporarily cut off funding from all the cities, leaving a $1.5 million hole in Steckler's budget.

"The inception of that office and the amount of energy and time and effort and money it took to set that up certainly is a big job and of course big jobs have various kinks that need to be worked out," Boca Mayor Susan Whelchel said. "The job itself still has some kinks that need to be worked out."

In addition to launching the new oversight office, Steckler got the fledgling organization accredited by the Commission on Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation. The office has grown to 23 of the 40 employees envisioned, limited by the funding fight. Under Steckler, the inspector general's office has issued 84 reports identifying nearly $11 million in questionable local government costs.

The obstacles Steckler faced will make it tough to find a worthy replacement, Santamaria said.

"The job is going to be under attack no matter who gets it," Santamaria said.